Bowling alleys



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

Patented Sept (No Model.) J EMIG MACHINE FOR PLANING BOWLING ALLEYS. No.567,821.

`(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

v J. BMIG'. MACHINE FOR PLANING BOWLING ALLBYS. N0. 567,821;

Patented Septwl, v1896.

' sheetssneet a. J. BMIG. MACHINE FOR PLANINGBOWLING ALLEYS. No.567,821; Patented Sept. 15, 1896.

Hmmm" lnvntor.

Attorney.

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artnr JACOB EMIG, OF BUFFALO, NEXV YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO GEORGESHAFFER, OF SAME PLACE.

MACHINE FOR PLANING BOWLING-ALLEYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 567,821, datedSeptember 15, 1896. Application led January 20, 1896. Serial No.5761134. (No model.)

To @ZZ ulb/0711, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JACOB EMIG, a citizen of the United States, residingat Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have inventedcertain newand useful lmprovements in Machines for Planin g Bowling-Alleys, of which the following is a speciiication.

My invention relates to a new and useful machine whereby a bowling-alleycan be easily and quickly leveled to a true horizontal plane, and willbe fully and clearly hereinafter described and claimed, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a sideelevation of the machine and the bowling-alley with which it isconnected. Fig. 2 represents a top plan View of 'the same, showing asimilar view of the bowling-alley in connection therewith. Fig. 3represents an enlarged side elevation of the machine, showing the sideopposite to that shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a transverse section throughthe machine and bowlingalley on or about line a a, Fig. 2, looking inthe direction of the arrow Vin said Fig. 2. Fig. 5 represents a verticalcentral section through the adjustable track-support, cutting throughall except the `bolts and verticallyadjustable screw portion. Fig. 6 isa fragmentary side elevation showing two ends of the track securedtogether and the manner of attaching the track t0 the track-support,aportion of each part being broken away to show the construction. Fig. 7represents a vertical section on or about line l) b, Fig. 4. Fig. 8represents a detached perspective view of one of the cutters. Fig. 9represents a vertical central section through the cutter-head andcutters. Fig. 10 represents a horizontal section on or about line c c,Fig. 9. Fig. 11

represents a vertical central section through the removablesandpapering-head. Fig. 11 represents a plan view of one of the cutters.Fig. 12 represents a vertical section on or about line CZ d, Fig. 2.Fig. 13 is a side elevation of the machine, showing the construction andarrangement of the parts when adapted to be operated by hand. Fig. 14represents a vertical section on or about line c e,

Fig. 13, looking in the direction of the arrow m. Fig. 15 represents avertical section on or about line ff, Fig. '14.

Referring to the several parts of the mechanism in detail, `1 in saiddrawings represents 5 5 f an ordinary bowling-alley platform.

It is well known that a bowling-alley while in use becomes out of levelor untrue.

The objectof my invention is to provide a portable machine that may bequickly and 6o easily adjusted to any bowling-alley and adapted to planeits surface to a true level.

I will first describe the track upon which the machine runs while inoperation. It consists of two series of round iron or steel bars orrails 2, which can be easily turned in the lathe or otherwise madeperfectly true. They are mounted upon adj nstable foot-pieces, one endof each rail being provided with a reduced screw portion 3, adapted toscrew into 7o a correspondingly screw-threaded openingin the end of theother, thereby forming a long continuoustrackorrail2. (SeeFig'G.) Theserails are mounted on a series of adjustable supports or foot-pieces,consisting of a stationary supporting-base 4, (see Fig. 5,) which isrigidly secured to the iioor on each side of the bowling-alley by bolts5. In the to'p of this base isA bored a vertical opening through whichpasses a central round bar 6, which de- 8o pends from the forked portion7, to which it is rigidly attached. It is provided with a4screw-threaded portion adapted to receive the screw-nuts 8 and Sa, bywhich it is iirmlysecured in place on the supporting-base et and bywhich it may be adjusted vertically up or down. At the top of the forkedportion is secured by the pointed pivotal screws SJ and Qta transversesupporting-piece 10, which is thus held securely in place, so as to bemov- 9o able on the screw-centers. The screws,when adjusted, aresecurely held in their adjustment by means of the usual jam-nuts 11.(See Fig. 5.) In the top of the cross-piece 10 is a semicirculardepression 12,\in which the track-bar 2 is laid and then rigidly securedin place by a -countersunk-head screw-bolt 13. (See Figs. 5 and (i.) ltwill now be seen that the bolts 9 and E)a provide the means foradjusting the track-bars laterally, or from roo side to side, while thesupporting-piece 10, being on pivotal centers, coincides with anymovement of the track in that direction, and the screws 8 and 8a allowthe shaft to be adjusted vertically, so that the means of adjustment inany direction required are at hand in the supporting foot-pieces forsupporting the track. A track is thus provided that can be readilysecured in place on each side of a bowling-alley and easily adjusted to'a true horizontal plane, as will appear farther on. The base-frameportion 14 is form ed substantially in a square and preferably in oneintegral piece of cast-iron. Itis provided with boxes 15, in which thetransverse shafts 16 and 16a are rigidly secured, so that they cannotturn thereon. On each shaft 16 and 16"t is mounted a grooved wheel17 and17, adapted to turn easily thereon, the groove in the periphery of thewheels being adapted to fit the tracks 2 and run thereon. To prevent thewheels 17 and 17a from coming oif from the shafts 16 and 16, I secure onsaid shafts two collars 18 and 19, one at each side of the wheels 17 a.(See Fig. 2.) The collars are secured rigidly in place by set-screws orin any well-known way, and so as to allow the wheels to have a freerotary movement on the shafts between the collars. The wheels 17 do notrequire anything to hold them onto their shafts 16 and 16 except theirgrooved peripheries, that rest and tread upon a track made to fit saidgrooves. The object of this construction is to permit said wheels tomove very slightly in a longitudinal direction back and forth along theshafts, so that if the parallelism of the tracks should not be exactlytrue the wheels will adapt themselves to the track without binding.

To the base-frame are secured, by bolts 20, (shown in Fig. 2 and bydotted lines in Fig. 3,) two upright side frame-pieces 21, to which isrigidly fastened, by bolts 23, (see Figs. 4 and 7,) a transverseslideway portion 24, on

which is mounted a transverse sliding cutter-v head frame 25. (See Figs.4, 7, and 13.) In the transverse slideway portion 24 is mounted insuitable bearings thereon a screw-shaft 26, provided with a handle 27,by which it is operated by hand, as will appear farther on. Thisscrew-shaft 26 passes through a correspondingly screw-threaded box 28(shown in Fig. 7, also by dotted lines in Fig. 4) on the verticalcutter-head frame 25. On the vertical cutter-head frame is mounted inboxes 29 and 29n a vertical shaft 30, having at its upper end a bevelgear-wheel 31, rigidly secured to it. At the lower end of the shaft 30is secured, in the well-known way, a cutter-head 32, carrying thecutters 33. The construction of the cutter-head and the manner of itsattachment to the shaft 30 are shown in the sectional View Fig. 9. It isattached to the shaft 30 by means of the screw portion 34 and nuts 35and 36, which hold it rigidly to the shaft,.and at the same time providea convenient means for adjusting it vertically up or down, as will beseen. The shaft 30 is also prevented from turning in the cutter-head bymeans of a key 36a. (Shown in Fig. 10.) The means for securing andadjusting the cutters 33 by means of the set-screws 37 and 38 is alsoshown in Fig. 9. The vertical cutterhead frame is also provided with anarm 39, which extends upward and is provided with a box 40, (see Fig.4,) the office of which will appear farther on.

To one side of the slideway portion 24 is rigidly secured by bolts 41 anarm 42, having a box 43 at the top, and at the opposite end of theslideway portion 24 is rigidly secured another arm 44, also by bolts 41.At the top of this arm 44 is a box 45. In the boxes 43 and 45 is mounteda transverse shaft 46,havingalongitudinal groove 47. (See Figs. 2, 4,and 12, where this groove is shown.) On this shaft46 is mounted a bevelgear-wheel 48, having a key 49 secured thereto. and

adapted to slideA in the groove 47, (see Fig. 12,) so as to prevent. thebevel-wheel from turning on the shaft 46 and at the same time permit itto be moved longitudinally back and forth along said shaft. The bevelgear-wheel 48 is provided with a sleeve extending outward and having areduced portion 49a and a collar 50. This reduced portion fits in thebox 40 and turns therein when the shaft 46 and gear-wheel 48 turn. Thebevel gearwheel 48 gears in with the bevel gear-wheel 31. (See Fig. 12,also Figs. 2 and 4.) lt will now be seen that by turning the handle 27the vertical frame 25, carrying the cutterhead and cutters and thebevel-gearing 3l and 48, may be moved transversely from one side of themachine to the other.

On one side of the machine, next to the arm 42 on the shaft 46, ismounted and rigidly secured a grooved pulley 51. At the rear end of thebowling-alley is secured in any wellknown way, so as to be easilyremovable, a grooved pulley 52, (see Figs. 1 and 2,) and at the oppositeend of the alley is located the engine 53, (a gas-engine, for instance.)Mounted on the engine crank-shaft and rigidly secured to it is a groovedpulley 54. The grooved pulleys 51, 52, and 54 are located so as to be ina line with each other and are connected with each other by a cable orrope 55, or a belt may be used if desired. The cable or rope passesentirely around the pulley 51, as will be lseen by reference to Fig. 4,so that by the operation of the engine the pulley 51 and its shaft 46are made to rotate. On the opposite end of the shaft 46, near thesupporting-arm 44, is rigidly secured a pulley 56, (shown in Fig. 3,)and secured to the base-frame is a .pillow-block 57, (see Figs. 1 and3,) in the top of which is mounted in a well-known box short shaft 58,(see Fig. 2,) carrying on the inner Vside a small pulley 59 (see Fig. 1)and at its opposite end a bevel gear-wheel 60. (Shown in Figs. 2 and 3.The two pulleys 56 and 59 are connected together by a belt 61.

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Rigidly secured by bolts to the base-frame of the machine are twopillow-blocks 62 and 63, (see Figs. 1, 2 and '3,) at the top of which ismounted in the usual boxes a longitudinallyarranged shaft 64. At one endof the shaft 64 is a bevel gear-wheel 65, (see Figs. 2 and 3,) and atthe opposite end of said shaft is a screw-worm 66a, adapted to gear inwith the worm gear-wheel 66, mounted on the shaft 16 and located next toone of the grooved wheels 17 a, to which it is rigidly secured by ascrewbolt or other well-known means, so as to turn said wheel when themachine is in operation. The worm gear-wheel 66 is shown in Fig. 4. Theobject of the worm-gear is to give the proper feed to the machine whilein operation.

The cutters are made in the form of a gouge or hollow, and thecuttingend 33Ct is cut diagonally across, as more clearly shown in Fig. 11a.This form insures a sliding cut,which is important in planing abowling-alley, where the cut requires to be clean and smooth.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The several parts beingadjusted to a bowlin g-alley, substantially as hereinbefore described,and motion being given to the engine so as to turn its fly-wheel in thedirection of thearrow a, (see Fig. 1,) the cable or rope will be movedin the direction of the arrow 1J. This operation will turn the groovedpulley 51 and the shaft 46 in the same direction, and through the bevelgear-wheels 48 and 31 will give the required rotary movement to thecutter-head and cutters. lVhile this operation is going on, the belt 61,moving in the direction of the arrow c,will,throu gh the bevelgear-wheels and 65, give the shaft 64 and its screw-worm a movement inthe proper direction to turn the worm gear-wheel 66 and the wheel 17 ain the direction of the arrow CZ, and thus give a sufficiently slowspeed to the machine to plane the surface of the alley smooth. Then themachine advances from the head of the alley to the rear and a portion ofthe alley is planed as wide as the cutters will sweep, the machine ismoved forward, and by means of the handle 27 the cutter-head frame andcutters are adjusted sufficiently to one side to take another cut, whichoperation is repeated until the whole width of the alley is planed.JAfter the planing is done it is often necessary to sandpaper the alley.

This is done by removing the cutterhead. and substituting therefor arotary-disk sandpapering-head 67. (See Fig. 11, where a section throughthis head 67 is shown.) At the bottom of the head 67 are two or moredownward-dependin g pins 68. A circular disk 69 is provided with holesin which the guidepins pass when the disk is in place, as in Fig.

11. This disk 69 is provided with springs 7 O, which tend to force itdownward. At the bottom of the disk 69 is a diskof sandpaper 71, securedthereto by cement or in any wellknown way. With the sandpapering-headthe operation of the machine is the same, the

j sandpapering being done in longitudinal courses until completed. W'henit is desired to run the machine with hand-power, the transverse shaftis arranged longitudinally. (See Figs. 12, 13, and 14.) The bevelgears48 and 31 communicate motion to the cutter-head in the same way asbefore, The cutter-head frame, with its cutters, is moved laterally bymeans of a screw-bar 26 and handle 27 in the same way, but in order tokeep the shaft 46 parallel, or so that both ends move at the same timeit is connected with a transverse screw-bar 72, (see Fig. 14,) having asprocket-wheel 73, and a sprocket-chain 74 connects with asprocket-Wheel 75 on the shaft 26. (See Figs. 13 and 14.) The requiredlongitudinal movement is given to the machine along the tracks 2 bymeans of a worm 76 on the shaft 46, which gears with a wormwheel 77. Theworm-wheel 77 is mounted on a horizontal shaft 78, between twoholdingpieces 7 8, one of which is shown in Fig. 15, and which forms apart of the box 7 7.

The shaft 78 carries the bevel gear-wheel 7 9, which is rigidly securedto it, (see Fig. 13,) and is mounted in bearings secured to the uprightframe-pieces 80, and while it is station.-

bearin 0s. The worm @ear-wheel 7 7 is mounted on the shaft 78 so it canmove longitudi` nally back and forth along said shaft 78, but cannotturn thereon. This is done in the usual way by means of a longitudinalgroove in the shaft and a feather extending from the worm gear-wheelinto said shaft, substantially as shown at 81 in said Fig. `13. Ashaft82 is mounted in boxes on the frame 80 and is provided with abevelgear-wheel 83 at the top, adapted to gear in with the bevel gear-wheel79. At the lower end of the shaft 82 is another bevel gear-wheel 84,(shown by dotted lines in Fig. 13,) which gears in with the bevelgear-wheel 85 on the shaft 17.

From the above description it will be seen that by turning thecrank-handles 86 in said Fig. 13 the machine will be operated by handand moved slowly along the track, while the cutters are being operatedat the same time.

I claim as my invention* 1. The combination with a bowling-alley of aportable railway-track, consisting of a double series ofsupporting-frames one series for each side of the track, eachsupporting-frame car- -ryin g a pivoted box in which the track-bars aresupported and made adjustable, allowing either end to be adjusted up ordown and means for adjusting the track-bars laterally and verticallysubstantially as described.

2. The combination with a bowling-alley of tracks, secured to supportsextending lengthwise each side of the alley, a planing-machine locateddirectly over the alley on grooved wheels adapted to iit over each sideof the track-bars and be moved longitudinally back or forth thereon, onewheel being secured between collars at one end of each shaft so as torotate freely between them, the other wheel on saidshaft being free torotate and move Ico IIO

5 holding supporting-frame, eonsistin g of a base portion 4, an upperforked portion between the forks of which is pivoted on centers aCross-piece or box carrying the track-bars and capable of movement onits centers When adro justing the track, means substantially as abovedescribed for adjusting the traek laterally, and a vertical soreWportion 6., carrying the pivoted track-bar supports and adapted to beadjusted vertically in the baseli, as.

and for the purposes described.

JACOB EMIG. Vitnesses:

JAMES SANGSTER, L. M. SPONG.

